Folklore, Greene County.
Folder contains 35 pages of Alabama folklore compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.Folklore TIlE PROPHETESS OF 3:UTAY, Alice L. Barton Aunt Nancy Vaughn, a colored woman, was nearing eighty at the time of her death. The Lord had begun speaking to Aunt Nancy when just...
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WPA Alabama Writers' Project Folklore, Greene County. |
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WPA Alabama Writers' Project African Americans--Alabama--Folklore; Folklore--Alabama; Alabama Writers' Project; Greene County (Ala.); United States. Works Progress Administration |
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Folder contains 35 pages of Alabama folklore compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.Folklore
TIlE PROPHETESS OF 3:UTAY,
Alice L. Barton
Aunt Nancy Vaughn, a colored woman, was nearing eighty at the time of her
death.
The Lord had begun speaking to Aunt Nancy when just a chile.
Her mother, who had belonged to Colonel Irving in Greensboro, had not believed
the story that little Nancy heard a voice when there were no people around. So Nancy
continued to hear the Yolce, but told no one. She was a gwown .oman before ahe knew
it was the Lord's voice and understood what it was saying, Then she heard it distinctly---
"Dress yourself in a white robe," said the Lord, "1 111 tell you how to make it;
and go tell the Pope I say his time is nigh". "I'll go, Lord," said Nancy, "but I
was born in slave times and all I have been datu' since the war is a little washin'
for the white folks here in Eutaw, and I ain't got no money." "You go tell Sister
Jane about that", said the Lord.
So Nancy made her a white robe from a bed sheet as the Lord had told her and
she walked over to Bee Sister Jane.
"Sis Jane", said Nancy, "the Lord tol' me to dress this way and go tell the
Pope his time is nigh. I tol' hia I ain't got no money and he say, 'you go see
Sister Jane about that".
"Well," said Sister Jane," it the Lord say 80, it must be 80. This 18 my
house ani land. Maybe.e can get 80me money from it 8o~eho••
~ister Jane got six hundred dollars tor a mortgage on her place and she
made herself a white robe and she and Aunt Nancy went to Rome.
They took a steamboat trom Mobile and then a train.
e got a'terpreter when .e got to the city of Rome". Nancy said, "and he
took us to see the Pope." 'Course the Pope didn't speak nothing but Latin and all
Berton,
1 b
1:1- - \-
liIIrs. Alice L.
EUtaw, Ala.
NANCY VAUGHN
NAncy Vaughn, a negro woman in Eutaw believed that the Lord told
her of the future.
The Lord spoke to her deep down in her heart and told her to go
to Birminghem and tell the people there that 'hay were wicked and a
great trobble was coming to destroy them.
A big crowd gathered in 18th. Street while the negro woman in the
white robe was prophesying destruction. Nancy epoke calmly snd cer-talnly
and fear ceme upon her heerers. Then a policeman forced hie
way through the people and arrested her.
"They put ma in Je 1, honey. ThDongin' the streets was the charge./
I tol"em one woman CoUldn't throng the streets, but they put me in
Jail anyhow. An' Itol' 'me if you don't let me out of this here a big
wind'll come bigger'n the tornado thet blew the year the stars fell,
end it'll blow the city of Birmingham oown. Then in A littlw 11e a
black cloud come up. It looked like a storm, en' .. man come with some
keys an' said he wasn't goin' to teke no chances an' he let me out-.
Thie etory is told by Wart VAUghn e son of NAney Veughn.
•
s. "lice L. bartun,
hutaw, lao ~ J
he Story of the .Ihite Dove
When the mistress of the Big House lay dying so the house
slaves said, she raised hers~lf on her elbow and said she would come
back to her home j she would come back as a white ClOve to her hus-bard
am to the garden wh ere they haa been hs<ppy. together.
,0 white dove came to the garden for months nor for years.
But on the dey the master c~'ried a bride inside the Big House, the
sla'les heard an unusual sound in th.., garden, hardl¥ distinguish/!
against the white blossoms on the snow ball bush, they saw the white
dove. l:..very afternoJn after that, at exactly the time, (, h" dove
appeared, uttering heartbroken moans. The s laves were frightened
•
they said their first mistress had kept her word, the whole commwlity
became .excited. People began peering• over the garden wlll to see the
ave. The briole b"came worried, the master exei ted.
Finally one aft.a-no n, with a gun in hand, th" master walk"d
from his hou e into the g81'den. s h" drew near the snowball bush
the dave rose in th" iI', e.nd came toward him. cie raised his gun
and fired. woman I S scream was hellX'd, and the Cove flew away nev"r
to return and a red hole staining the whitness of ~ts brea.t.
That night as the master ley in his bed he dilld. tio one bas
ev.r known the cuuse of his death.
This story is tola by the old negro servants that live at
Rosemount.
• ( 1- (
/ /io£/:-Lv 0
"
~ere tte sky bends 10 ,and moun ~in mists like phantOM bOrds
wing their way; ~here in the da time,there is silence,~nd whare at night
the cabin homes beneath the hills are lighted by kerosEne lamps,--thera
is the home of the moonshiner ,--the man who believes he has just 8S much
right to make hiskey from corn,as has his wife to make cornbread. Tt!ej'
t •
;'hair very jlogs knOl"' the"revenooe::-s" ,and ths en ildren even the
li ttlest cen spot a Government man as far as aye can reach. Unlike '!n'~...
other children of the same ge,they are -ise beyond the r years,and
when a "revenooer" is spotted, they do not go to the cs bin to tell their ..
=y", they "light out to the still, perhaps sevenl miles away to warn
up ppy" of the approach of tt.e r;over=ent men •
In season corn grows in abundance in the moonshine countr.,but it is
n,
used at table en as kad....... ,they the
•
.t.
we1vil is in the cor ut thp.re -:ill bE no .ign of '"'ea vils in the cor'".1 •
Far down the valleys,'<iil. from perhaps an under round crevice,or
ravine,com s the tiny tell-t le,blue,sn"ke-like s~oke. There is no other
smoke like it • It : t li}e " sJ1ake,is blue as Juna skies
v
But to locate the SlIoke,by no means loc,tes the stilL That may ba,
in all probability is,miles ~ y,the smoke beine tunnelled to the opening
and in a.ll~ the opposite direction. The most unlooked for plece,is
the openin~ selected. For instance,by tha side entranca,bush hidden/to the
churchyar ,th t surrounds the little log meeting house the Virginia creepers
he ve lon "go cla imed, for, ~i.¥8 i+ 'J! Ilet, the moonshiner has another side.
• ( .1.- (
he is deeply rel .,ious,end must have tr.e meetin house,even thouGh most of
his re118ion ' outside 0' it •
Tl e acme of friendship is re"che~ "hen a rr.oons' ner '>'fers" lIest
so e of he 'moonshine' from h s stlll,for this is trustlnr,ane ithout
trust 'here: 1"'0 'riendship 'r. t"e rJoons!:'na COl" tr:' • Tbt is the secret
he:· have 3. S riBs ot .Yodels,understood b7 t!"el'll a one. iJuli(le[$~"',--
, '
those
....,.'"""""" rJdio Jrth,t c n
"
~~~n.: .'.......~_
'od el as .00nsbiners"1,....e"'!I'!!"""It
I.!i
•
her to e, i th....lIo ll!I'"
The moonshine country h s
t- orren tol} •
ri id conventions especi,lly re,r n
\,I.r~..a.-
7 tr vel..$ the th outside
sunbonnet: t 1ed secl ""el~ Jr..ner her c} in. ;\-e 1I111S'" not
en fnlk. \11 3'~ ..,s to do e 0 "f"ller £1' ~.n·'.
roonst iners ·u :e j~ch at er Ue cruee code of"r like the
loots of 1m",or tIe l' verse, In t"e' J-~ seldom . t~"i tor is
sort-lived ttere. "e 's 'ound de3d.::0 '1'8 sks "y. "e is buried -ithout
cere~on:'. ~. for ot e>t . TIe:' re ... un themselves, nd no at er
of t!' o~ inary • Tellth cor' n eent..J
ent,but "oe-be.~~e t e euest -.0
officer /lent to hQ~t them,and nIne tirees out
11 •
. nv1 te-'" guest to "1 eht
ell,s tel erress •
,...,-" f-iners
100;', l' . man t
thn tl.e ~ii 5t revenue
~- 0' ten, ill cutwit ~
a do
business" rules the Cabin 3S
:r tl 08e
la ill ru e t'el'l •
Ever'" rnan
, , s c in is is c /l leo
nd hi tch""."t pa: .. hll1l a compl
notices he novertY,or n"t 1n ou •
.. 1nd "• our 0
not kno' hern,the moens
inferior cro~'I»QJl~~v~~~;:~~:;;.~~::~~~
( s-
Ql tc 11 ,bird 11 ,0 1 loot n tte like J:eard in t e de d of nic;lt,,_...
o the "stiner". It is the code of the still
ectlon . .1n s unde'Etood b~ everyone who inhabits tJ~ region •• forked - stick in the rOJe ,a B"l'sy p \eran, b:' th side of a tree, or n the end of
n old r i:" fence,conveys to the "'oons iner :I n.essage aa clear aa any
..... .... IJ.. • ""-J.
telegram
"Howdy 3trancar" had bbtter be ",nswerad in a civil a tone. Thia ill be
follpwed b" t's Y3ur business in this here section?' end tJ:is is
L d .. kO no; to bstenored. If tbe answera are satisf ctory,?e~ 3P$.per~itted to go
-~--- tched b. '" ny eyes from undergrowtb end other W3tchouts,until
~ "'"" ........ '" uL ~.,:t~
"ths!' ere 8QPl'j"'nce"-.;:p, "1J'6 ooJ; q "revenooer". It the answers not l'pe '6
....... , ~t sf ctory" to "Turn round a~~ bead to beyant". hict ",eans
'0 leave tbe section,snd ....., do so before dark fJl1~
~V6r dYe ths c~ce • a ain .
In the dog trot by every c bin,there is 61 a,s Con:plete silence •
ildren n ver ple. ttare,and it seems ~s i' tte o.s never bark in its
vicinity. Mhis dog trot i the "listening room" of the shiner. It is
lways tee spot here echo foretells hat is 10 p~ening in tJ:e valle
belo ,and thus ives time to W3rn the "'en at the still ,or to cover the
ou tlet or tbe oke tole ith contr ption al ys re d. to o~erate •
••
Unless the country of tte moonshiner is well known to tbe Officers,
1\- .. ". }V ... J.:t.., a.... ":-Z:;;;~A.- ~ ....... " ere rarel. found OJ W::A.__
f li tior is made •
These stills ere ~W6JS entered hy bidden doors,sorn times a growth
of underbrush,sometimes s deep thicket,or egain in the canter of e bsrn,
qovered by hay. gain tJ:ey are found--these en~~nce
one ear taken from t 3 ground,so to speak,as
r vines,or gUlches,but al ys
~-i:
~life '18»;' serious
here
ys--hidden in deep
tAAll Q D8 lea st expected toe "~._
, .......
recreations end never is
I. ......,L.. S6V............
the ere al-a,s on the •
!.Irs. Alic e. L. Barton,
Eutaw, "la.
498 orda.
~f
THE STORY OF 'JHE oiEDDIN-G ING
,
A wanan clot ed in black sat on a l'ock b"side the road, wait"ng
fa' th" stage c ch. She was young an b"autiful, though her eyes
were red ith weeping, ~v~r the death of her moth"r. The fun"ral
had been held, she haa sai d farewell to her father, she was return-ing
to her husband ana children - a three day journey. A man stopped
his team and buggy beside her, an old friend of her youth, more than
a friend once. The stage, he told h"r had been re-routed, as account
cf swollen streams. But he would be gl&d to hepp her catch itl She
climbed into the buggy and sat b"sidehim. Before long they came to
a stream whose uSQ.al1y sluggish wat"rs had been whipped by the spri ng
rains into a raging torment. Brav~ly the horse plunged through it,.
cnly their heads above water. At last wet znd cold they were or. the
other ide. fer. miles far t r th y turnedcff the rori to r ris
pl ntet on ho e.
no ooe kno s exactly .hat h ppeo hen behind the te ls
hid.. Ii, ,
of th t Dig nouse. ~he a ly certainty is th t h ~ an n
cCl'lJae. lhe new shed room hehind the house had ro t be n co 1 ted.
ne drfg~ed her there Bnd hurried .er in a shallow gr ve bene th he
unfinished floor. nd th t very night he got .ord that the at ge
•
hed overturned in midstreem 11 it occurenta ere drown d. oe
jumped on his horse and rode over to help i the a crch for the bo'•••
nis companions said he w rked like a mbdmen.
v ryo e believed t th alLan I d been dro ned i th the ot!:'er
occup nts of the at,ge, though her bcdy wea not recov red. Jnd so
her murderer lived on pe cefully in hia nig nouse for three years.
•
, -
'IRE OLD WITCH AND H THREE DAOGHT~
IOnce upon a time, dere was an ole witch. She was very ugly
an' mean, but she bad three beautiful daughters. In anudder
(
town not far f'um wbar she an' her daughters lived dere was a man
. wid three han'some sons. Now dese .. boys had seen dese gals on
a few 'casions an' dey done felt slap in love wid}em, so de boys
decided dat dey wOuldgo to see de young ladies. De ole witch
knowed dat de boys liked her daughters, an' she toll 'em iffen she
cotched , em comln' in her house she was a-goin' to kill
'em daid. One day she hadda go way f'um de house an' leave de wm
gals dere all alone, but befo' she left she tol' 'em not to let
dem boys come in de do'.
Soon's de ole witch left de bops knowed aat dey could go to see
de gals, so when de time came .., uey sot out for de witch~s house,
but befo' dey lef' dey tol' dere sister to putt a tub of water on
de stove, an' when it turned red to let de three dogs: Billy Bow •
Plenty Rowand Hidey Youngo loose. When dey had gone de sister, she
putt de water on an' made ready for to let de dogs loose when it
turned red.
Now de ole withc bad a pair of false teeth dat she putt over •
de do' when she went away, so's when she come baci: she could axe
.em who done been in her house an' dey would tell her.
When de three boys got to de house, de girls .Ivlted 'em in.
Dey was sho glad to see de boys, caze dey done fallen in love wid
dem too. Den de gals tuk a bucket of water an' placed it on de stove,
an' toll de b6lys dat when it begin a-turnin' blue, dey would know
de witch was on her way mm. home. Dis would be de warnin' for de boys
de younges' daugnter saw de water a-turnin' blue, so de baTs ....
lef' •
•
,
to leave • De baTs an • de gals was in a big way of makin' love when
gals was glad to see 'em an' 'vited 'em raght
a-turnin' red to let de dogs loose.
When de witch come home in a few minutes, she axed de teeths
had anyone been in her house, an' dey answers,... 'shoo Dere wa~ theee - han'some boys here but Tau can't catch 'em caze deT is too far gonel
~e nex' day de boys knowih' dat de witch had to be away all day,
decided to callan de gals ag'in. Befo' de lef' home dey tal' de
sister de same thing 'bout puttin' de water on de stove an' when
it commence When dey reached
witches
house de
water a-gittin' blue. over
(
Dey putt de
love makin'
tub of water on de stove again, but dejWent for dis
in sich a big way dis 41me dat dey didn't see de
,
Atter a while ~ younges gal, she glance
•
at de water an' it was dark blue. She knowed raght den dat de ole
dey had runned some way, de oldest one
witch was mighty near home.
quick as dey could. Atter
De boys got ouben dam dat house as
he say dat he couldn't go no futher, so he stopped raght dere an'
clumb a tree. In a little while de nex' Oldest, he say he couldn't
go no further so he stopped an' clumb a tree. Twarn't long 'fa'
de younges' couldn't go no further so he too clumb a tree. u e was
alm~' home. Be clumbed
\Billy Bow Plenty Rowan'
dat tree an' begin to call his dogs:
II#>;~
Bidey Youngo. De sister heered him an'
•
turliled
'em loose.
When de ole witch got home she went straight to de teeth an'
axed 'em who done been dere an' dey answered: 'Three bops." Den
she axed 'em iffen she cvuld catch 'em, ..m an • dey tal' her she
could iffen she would hurry. Den de ole wit~h wound de te~~ up
in a cloth an' th'ew 'em into de air sayin' ¥Cotch dam rascalsl' ~
De teeths flew an' flew till dey came to de tree whaD de younges'
boy was. De ole
cut down de tree.
witch was dere waitin' an she say for de teeth to
De teeths commence to che~' on de tree an'
Alice L. Barton
Eutaw Alabama.
Approx.500 lords.
Antimo Vil1.iams
Antimo Williams, colorful nefro deer guide and favorite
story teller~ has been a figure in Greene County hunting seasons
for a half a century. Antimo died October 29, 1936 at his home on
the cedar Hammock place near Eutaw. He was approximately eiLhty one
years old, havin£ been born in slavery and being about ten years old
at the time of the surrender.
lidely ,:nO'ID as a hunting guiae and a general handy man
at the Greene County preserve of the late Judge Bernard Harwood,
Anitmo has been a prime favorite of Tuscaloosa sportmen for several
decades.
In redent years he developed into a champion teller of tales,
beine noted for highly exaggerated hair-raising tales in which he
was the principal character. "stars Fell on Alabama", byCarl carmer,
•
is incllded an entire chapter devoted to a character sketch of Antimo.
standipg siX feet, two inches and n0ted for tlli his strength
Antim, was known as "Bear" tosportsman. He said he earned tlhis name
by wrestling and defeating a large bear at a traFelling show in Birmingham
years ago.
Although servi g as care taker at Judi e Harwood's place
adjacent to Dollarhide s"amp, An5l1mo participated in pr, ctically all
of the deer hunts sta! ed at DOllarhide HUnting coub property.
Every year "Bear" ",ould go to Birminghan to visit ,.hite
"folks" (aa he called them).
. .' r
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
/
,
ct::'::"'~,-.£ ?~L~ .A-- 4....- ~ ~Ntt'2~
e''<: ~
~~~~.d-d/ ~'" .::: d 40<&0 £
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~£ ..e......- ;2 -:71- ~
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| title |
Folklore, Greene County. |
| titleStr |
Folklore, Greene County. |
| url |
http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/wpa/id/888 |
| id |
ADAHwpa888 |
| thumbnail |
http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/wpa/id/888 |
| _version_ |
1743797183867518976 |
| spelling |
GSU# SG022775_00839-00874SG022775_00839_00874Folklore, Greene County.Folder contains 35 pages of Alabama folklore compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.1930-1939African Americans--Alabama--Folklore; Folklore--Alabama; Alabama Writers' Project; Greene County (Ala.); United States. Works Progress AdministrationTextDocumentsAlabama. Dept. of Archives and HistoryWorks Progress Administration filesSG022775WPA Alabama Writers' Project, Folklore, Greene County, #4Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, 624 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36130EnglishThis material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.96 dpi tiffFolklore
TIlE PROPHETESS OF 3:UTAY,
Alice L. Barton
Aunt Nancy Vaughn, a colored woman, was nearing eighty at the time of her
death.
The Lord had begun speaking to Aunt Nancy when just a chile.
Her mother, who had belonged to Colonel Irving in Greensboro, had not believed
the story that little Nancy heard a voice when there were no people around. So Nancy
continued to hear the Yolce, but told no one. She was a gwown .oman before ahe knew
it was the Lord's voice and understood what it was saying, Then she heard it distinctly---
"Dress yourself in a white robe," said the Lord, "1 111 tell you how to make it;
and go tell the Pope I say his time is nigh". "I'll go, Lord," said Nancy, "but I
was born in slave times and all I have been datu' since the war is a little washin'
for the white folks here in Eutaw, and I ain't got no money." "You go tell Sister
Jane about that", said the Lord.
So Nancy made her a white robe from a bed sheet as the Lord had told her and
she walked over to Bee Sister Jane.
"Sis Jane", said Nancy, "the Lord tol' me to dress this way and go tell the
Pope his time is nigh. I tol' hia I ain't got no money and he say, 'you go see
Sister Jane about that".
"Well," said Sister Jane," it the Lord say 80, it must be 80. This 18 my
house ani land. Maybe.e can get 80me money from it 8o~eho••
~ister Jane got six hundred dollars tor a mortgage on her place and she
made herself a white robe and she and Aunt Nancy went to Rome.
They took a steamboat trom Mobile and then a train.
e got a'terpreter when .e got to the city of Rome". Nancy said, "and he
took us to see the Pope." 'Course the Pope didn't speak nothing but Latin and all
Berton,
1 b
1:1- - \-
liIIrs. Alice L.
EUtaw, Ala.
NANCY VAUGHN
NAncy Vaughn, a negro woman in Eutaw believed that the Lord told
her of the future.
The Lord spoke to her deep down in her heart and told her to go
to Birminghem and tell the people there that 'hay were wicked and a
great trobble was coming to destroy them.
A big crowd gathered in 18th. Street while the negro woman in the
white robe was prophesying destruction. Nancy epoke calmly snd cer-talnly
and fear ceme upon her heerers. Then a policeman forced hie
way through the people and arrested her.
"They put ma in Je 1, honey. ThDongin' the streets was the charge./
I tol"em one woman CoUldn't throng the streets, but they put me in
Jail anyhow. An' Itol' 'me if you don't let me out of this here a big
wind'll come bigger'n the tornado thet blew the year the stars fell,
end it'll blow the city of Birmingham oown. Then in A littlw 11e a
black cloud come up. It looked like a storm, en' .. man come with some
keys an' said he wasn't goin' to teke no chances an' he let me out-.
Thie etory is told by Wart VAUghn e son of NAney Veughn.
•
s. "lice L. bartun,
hutaw, lao ~ J
he Story of the .Ihite Dove
When the mistress of the Big House lay dying so the house
slaves said, she raised hers~lf on her elbow and said she would come
back to her home j she would come back as a white ClOve to her hus-bard
am to the garden wh ere they haa been hs<ppy. together.
,0 white dove came to the garden for months nor for years.
But on the dey the master c~'ried a bride inside the Big House, the
sla'les heard an unusual sound in th.., garden, hardl¥ distinguish/!
against the white blossoms on the snow ball bush, they saw the white
dove. l:..very afternoJn after that, at exactly the time, (, h" dove
appeared, uttering heartbroken moans. The s laves were frightened
•
they said their first mistress had kept her word, the whole commwlity
became .excited. People began peering• over the garden wlll to see the
ave. The briole b"came worried, the master exei ted.
Finally one aft.a-no n, with a gun in hand, th" master walk"d
from his hou e into the g81'den. s h" drew near the snowball bush
the dave rose in th" iI', e.nd came toward him. cie raised his gun
and fired. woman I S scream was hellX'd, and the Cove flew away nev"r
to return and a red hole staining the whitness of ~ts brea.t.
That night as the master ley in his bed he dilld. tio one bas
ev.r known the cuuse of his death.
This story is tola by the old negro servants that live at
Rosemount.
• ( 1- (
/ /io£/:-Lv 0
"
~ere tte sky bends 10 ,and moun ~in mists like phantOM bOrds
wing their way; ~here in the da time,there is silence,~nd whare at night
the cabin homes beneath the hills are lighted by kerosEne lamps,--thera
is the home of the moonshiner ,--the man who believes he has just 8S much
right to make hiskey from corn,as has his wife to make cornbread. Tt!ej'
t •
;'hair very jlogs knOl"' the"revenooe::-s" ,and ths en ildren even the
li ttlest cen spot a Government man as far as aye can reach. Unlike '!n'~...
other children of the same ge,they are -ise beyond the r years,and
when a "revenooer" is spotted, they do not go to the cs bin to tell their ..
=y", they "light out to the still, perhaps sevenl miles away to warn
up ppy" of the approach of tt.e r;over=ent men •
In season corn grows in abundance in the moonshine countr.,but it is
n,
used at table en as kad....... ,they the
•
.t.
we1vil is in the cor ut thp.re -:ill bE no .ign of '"'ea vils in the cor'".1 •
Far down the valleys,'<iil. from perhaps an under round crevice,or
ravine,com s the tiny tell-t le,blue,sn"ke-like s~oke. There is no other
smoke like it • It : t li}e " sJ1ake,is blue as Juna skies
v
But to locate the SlIoke,by no means loc,tes the stilL That may ba,
in all probability is,miles ~ y,the smoke beine tunnelled to the opening
and in a.ll~ the opposite direction. The most unlooked for plece,is
the openin~ selected. For instance,by tha side entranca,bush hidden/to the
churchyar ,th t surrounds the little log meeting house the Virginia creepers
he ve lon "go cla imed, for, ~i.¥8 i+ 'J! Ilet, the moonshiner has another side.
• ( .1.- (
he is deeply rel .,ious,end must have tr.e meetin house,even thouGh most of
his re118ion ' outside 0' it •
Tl e acme of friendship is re"che~ "hen a rr.oons' ner '>'fers" lIest
so e of he 'moonshine' from h s stlll,for this is trustlnr,ane ithout
trust 'here: 1"'0 'riendship 'r. t"e rJoons!:'na COl" tr:' • Tbt is the secret
he:· have 3. S riBs ot .Yodels,understood b7 t!"el'll a one. iJuli(le[$~"',--
, '
those
....,.'"""""" rJdio Jrth,t c n
"
~~~n.: .'.......~_
'od el as .00nsbiners"1,....e"'!I'!!"""It
I.!i
•
her to e, i th....lIo ll!I'"
The moonshine country h s
t- orren tol} •
ri id conventions especi,lly re,r n
\,I.r~..a.-
7 tr vel..$ the th outside
sunbonnet: t 1ed secl ""el~ Jr..ner her c} in. ;\-e 1I111S'" not
en fnlk. \11 3'~ ..,s to do e 0 "f"ller £1' ~.n·'.
roonst iners ·u :e j~ch at er Ue cruee code of"r like the
loots of 1m",or tIe l' verse, In t"e' J-~ seldom . t~"i tor is
sort-lived ttere. "e 's 'ound de3d.::0 '1'8 sks "y. "e is buried -ithout
cere~on:'. ~. for ot e>t . TIe:' re ... un themselves, nd no at er
of t!' o~ inary • Tellth cor' n eent..J
ent,but "oe-be.~~e t e euest -.0
officer /lent to hQ~t them,and nIne tirees out
11 •
. nv1 te-'" guest to "1 eht
ell,s tel erress •
,...,-" f-iners
100;', l' . man t
thn tl.e ~ii 5t revenue
~- 0' ten, ill cutwit ~
a do
business" rules the Cabin 3S
:r tl 08e
la ill ru e t'el'l •
Ever'" rnan
, , s c in is is c /l leo
nd hi tch""."t pa: .. hll1l a compl
notices he novertY,or n"t 1n ou •
.. 1nd "• our 0
not kno' hern,the moens
inferior cro~'I»QJl~~v~~~;:~~:;;.~~::~~~
( s-
Ql tc 11 ,bird 11 ,0 1 loot n tte like J:eard in t e de d of nic;lt,,_...
o the "stiner". It is the code of the still
ectlon . .1n s unde'Etood b~ everyone who inhabits tJ~ region •• forked - stick in the rOJe ,a B"l'sy p \eran, b:' th side of a tree, or n the end of
n old r i:" fence,conveys to the "'oons iner :I n.essage aa clear aa any
..... .... IJ.. • ""-J.
telegram
"Howdy 3trancar" had bbtter be ",nswerad in a civil a tone. Thia ill be
follpwed b" t's Y3ur business in this here section?' end tJ:is is
L d .. kO no; to bstenored. If tbe answera are satisf ctory,?e~ 3P$.per~itted to go
-~--- tched b. '" ny eyes from undergrowtb end other W3tchouts,until
~ "'"" ........ '" uL ~.,:t~
"ths!' ere 8QPl'j"'nce"-.;:p, "1J'6 ooJ; q "revenooer". It the answers not l'pe '6
....... , ~t sf ctory" to "Turn round a~~ bead to beyant". hict ",eans
'0 leave tbe section,snd ....., do so before dark fJl1~
~V6r dYe ths c~ce • a ain .
In the dog trot by every c bin,there is 61 a,s Con:plete silence •
ildren n ver ple. ttare,and it seems ~s i' tte o.s never bark in its
vicinity. Mhis dog trot i the "listening room" of the shiner. It is
lways tee spot here echo foretells hat is 10 p~ening in tJ:e valle
belo ,and thus ives time to W3rn the "'en at the still ,or to cover the
ou tlet or tbe oke tole ith contr ption al ys re d. to o~erate •
••
Unless the country of tte moonshiner is well known to tbe Officers,
1\- .. ". }V ... J.:t.., a.... ":-Z:;;;~A.- ~ ....... " ere rarel. found OJ W::A.__
f li tior is made •
These stills ere ~W6JS entered hy bidden doors,sorn times a growth
of underbrush,sometimes s deep thicket,or egain in the canter of e bsrn,
qovered by hay. gain tJ:ey are found--these en~~nce
one ear taken from t 3 ground,so to speak,as
r vines,or gUlches,but al ys
~-i:
~life '18»;' serious
here
ys--hidden in deep
tAAll Q D8 lea st expected toe "~._
, .......
recreations end never is
I. ......,L.. S6V............
the ere al-a,s on the •
!.Irs. Alic e. L. Barton,
Eutaw, "la.
498 orda.
~f
THE STORY OF 'JHE oiEDDIN-G ING
,
A wanan clot ed in black sat on a l'ock b"side the road, wait"ng
fa' th" stage c ch. She was young an b"autiful, though her eyes
were red ith weeping, ~v~r the death of her moth"r. The fun"ral
had been held, she haa sai d farewell to her father, she was return-ing
to her husband ana children - a three day journey. A man stopped
his team and buggy beside her, an old friend of her youth, more than
a friend once. The stage, he told h"r had been re-routed, as account
cf swollen streams. But he would be gl&d to hepp her catch itl She
climbed into the buggy and sat b"sidehim. Before long they came to
a stream whose uSQ.al1y sluggish wat"rs had been whipped by the spri ng
rains into a raging torment. Brav~ly the horse plunged through it,.
cnly their heads above water. At last wet znd cold they were or. the
other ide. fer. miles far t r th y turnedcff the rori to r ris
pl ntet on ho e.
no ooe kno s exactly .hat h ppeo hen behind the te ls
hid.. Ii, ,
of th t Dig nouse. ~he a ly certainty is th t h ~ an n
cCl'lJae. lhe new shed room hehind the house had ro t be n co 1 ted.
ne drfg~ed her there Bnd hurried .er in a shallow gr ve bene th he
unfinished floor. nd th t very night he got .ord that the at ge
•
hed overturned in midstreem 11 it occurenta ere drown d. oe
jumped on his horse and rode over to help i the a crch for the bo'•••
nis companions said he w rked like a mbdmen.
v ryo e believed t th alLan I d been dro ned i th the ot!:'er
occup nts of the at,ge, though her bcdy wea not recov red. Jnd so
her murderer lived on pe cefully in hia nig nouse for three years.
•
, -
'IRE OLD WITCH AND H THREE DAOGHT~
IOnce upon a time, dere was an ole witch. She was very ugly
an' mean, but she bad three beautiful daughters. In anudder
(
town not far f'um wbar she an' her daughters lived dere was a man
. wid three han'some sons. Now dese .. boys had seen dese gals on
a few 'casions an' dey done felt slap in love wid}em, so de boys
decided dat dey wOuldgo to see de young ladies. De ole witch
knowed dat de boys liked her daughters, an' she toll 'em iffen she
cotched , em comln' in her house she was a-goin' to kill
'em daid. One day she hadda go way f'um de house an' leave de wm
gals dere all alone, but befo' she left she tol' 'em not to let
dem boys come in de do'.
Soon's de ole witch left de bops knowed aat dey could go to see
de gals, so when de time came .., uey sot out for de witch~s house,
but befo' dey lef' dey tol' dere sister to putt a tub of water on
de stove, an' when it turned red to let de three dogs: Billy Bow •
Plenty Rowand Hidey Youngo loose. When dey had gone de sister, she
putt de water on an' made ready for to let de dogs loose when it
turned red.
Now de ole withc bad a pair of false teeth dat she putt over •
de do' when she went away, so's when she come baci: she could axe
.em who done been in her house an' dey would tell her.
When de three boys got to de house, de girls .Ivlted 'em in.
Dey was sho glad to see de boys, caze dey done fallen in love wid
dem too. Den de gals tuk a bucket of water an' placed it on de stove,
an' toll de b6lys dat when it begin a-turnin' blue, dey would know
de witch was on her way mm. home. Dis would be de warnin' for de boys
de younges' daugnter saw de water a-turnin' blue, so de baTs ....
lef' •
•
,
to leave • De baTs an • de gals was in a big way of makin' love when
gals was glad to see 'em an' 'vited 'em raght
a-turnin' red to let de dogs loose.
When de witch come home in a few minutes, she axed de teeths
had anyone been in her house, an' dey answers,... 'shoo Dere wa~ theee - han'some boys here but Tau can't catch 'em caze deT is too far gonel
~e nex' day de boys knowih' dat de witch had to be away all day,
decided to callan de gals ag'in. Befo' de lef' home dey tal' de
sister de same thing 'bout puttin' de water on de stove an' when
it commence When dey reached
witches
house de
water a-gittin' blue. over
(
Dey putt de
love makin'
tub of water on de stove again, but dejWent for dis
in sich a big way dis 41me dat dey didn't see de
,
Atter a while ~ younges gal, she glance
•
at de water an' it was dark blue. She knowed raght den dat de ole
dey had runned some way, de oldest one
witch was mighty near home.
quick as dey could. Atter
De boys got ouben dam dat house as
he say dat he couldn't go no futher, so he stopped raght dere an'
clumb a tree. In a little while de nex' Oldest, he say he couldn't
go no further so he stopped an' clumb a tree. Twarn't long 'fa'
de younges' couldn't go no further so he too clumb a tree. u e was
alm~' home. Be clumbed
\Billy Bow Plenty Rowan'
dat tree an' begin to call his dogs:
II#>;~
Bidey Youngo. De sister heered him an'
•
turliled
'em loose.
When de ole witch got home she went straight to de teeth an'
axed 'em who done been dere an' dey answered: 'Three bops." Den
she axed 'em iffen she cvuld catch 'em, ..m an • dey tal' her she
could iffen she would hurry. Den de ole wit~h wound de te~~ up
in a cloth an' th'ew 'em into de air sayin' ¥Cotch dam rascalsl' ~
De teeths flew an' flew till dey came to de tree whaD de younges'
boy was. De ole
cut down de tree.
witch was dere waitin' an she say for de teeth to
De teeths commence to che~' on de tree an'
Alice L. Barton
Eutaw Alabama.
Approx.500 lords.
Antimo Vil1.iams
Antimo Williams, colorful nefro deer guide and favorite
story teller~ has been a figure in Greene County hunting seasons
for a half a century. Antimo died October 29, 1936 at his home on
the cedar Hammock place near Eutaw. He was approximately eiLhty one
years old, havin£ been born in slavery and being about ten years old
at the time of the surrender.
lidely ,:nO'ID as a hunting guiae and a general handy man
at the Greene County preserve of the late Judge Bernard Harwood,
Anitmo has been a prime favorite of Tuscaloosa sportmen for several
decades.
In redent years he developed into a champion teller of tales,
beine noted for highly exaggerated hair-raising tales in which he
was the principal character. "stars Fell on Alabama", byCarl carmer,
•
is incllded an entire chapter devoted to a character sketch of Antimo.
standipg siX feet, two inches and n0ted for tlli his strength
Antim, was known as "Bear" tosportsman. He said he earned tlhis name
by wrestling and defeating a large bear at a traFelling show in Birmingham
years ago.
Although servi g as care taker at Judi e Harwood's place
adjacent to Dollarhide s"amp, An5l1mo participated in pr, ctically all
of the deer hunts sta! ed at DOllarhide HUnting coub property.
Every year "Bear" ",ould go to Birminghan to visit ,.hite
"folks" (aa he called them).
. .' r
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•
•
•
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/
,
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